Watching Juan Mata tear it up for Chelsea on a weekly basis, I often find myself wondering if he’s as smart and gracious as he appears on the football pitch.

After speaking with the Spanish international following Chelsea’s 5-3 loss to Manchester City on Saturday, I’m happy to confirm that he’s every bit as intelligent, modest and kind as one could imagine. Over the course of five minutes I got to speak with Mata about the City match, winning in Europe and New York City.

Here’s what the midfield dynamo had to say.

On his free-kick goal against Manchester City

Down 4-2 in the 81st minute, Chelsea was awarded a free-kick in the center of the pitch, 21 yards out. Mata, Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres all lined up behind the ball. The whistle blew and before City keeper Richard Wright knew what happened, Mata’s shot crashed off the underside of the bar and into the net.

When asked whether he was always going top corner the Spaniard sheepishly admitted “Yes, I saw where they lined up and how far out it was so I just tried to pass the ball over the wall,” Mata said in perfect English. “It was a good goal for me.”

Thoughts on winning consecutive European titles

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge on a £23.5 million transfer from Valencia in 2011, Mata has won two consecutive European titles with the Blues. Both victories were special for Mata with the playmaker noting that “both championships meant a lot but winning the Champions League is the best feeling you can have as a player in Europe.”

The Spaniard was also quick to defend the prestige of the Europa League. “Winning two years in a row is not easy,” Mata said. “So winning the Europa League trophy this year after a hard moment during the year was a very, very good feeling.”

The difficulty of making it through Europe’s second tournament was another factor that wasn’t lost on the 25 year old. “The Europa League is a very hard tournament to win,” Mata explained. “You have to pass so many rounds to reach the final. I think in the following years that the winner is going to play in the Champions League, so it’s going to be better.”

On New York City and getting noticed by fans

Mata and his teammates only had a single day to enjoy New York City before Saturday’s match but the midfielder had nothing but compliments for the Big Apple. “Yesterday we had some free-time but it was raining so it wasn’t the best day to walk around the city. But for me, New York, if not the best city, it’s one of the best for sure.”

When asked whether fans noticed him when he walked down the streets of New York, Mata smiled big, noting, “Haha, yes, people notice but it’s less than Europe. As a football player here in the U.S. you can live more relaxed.”

On Spain’s upcoming friendly against Ireland

On June 11th Yankee Stadium will host yet another match that Juan Mata may (should) be involved in when Spain takes on Ireland in an international friendly.

When asked about how he felt about coming back to New York in two weeks, Mata was his typical modest self. “Well, I’m waiting for the list for Spain,” the Chelsea man said. “But if I’m in the team then we’re coming to Miami and New York so it’s going to be exciting.”

Tickets for the June 11th clash start at $65.00 and are available for purchase by clicking here.

Two Premier League sides are level, Spurs lead, and Real Madrid has luckily kept a Gareth Bale-authored lead thanks to some goofy officiating on the second match day of group stage play at the UEFA Champions League.

Wissam Ben Yedder has goals in both of Sevilla’s UCL qualifiers and now both group stage matches after netting a 27th minute marker in Spain. He’s added another before the break.

Spartak Moscow 1-1 Liverpool

Loris Karius will not enjoy the replay of a 23rd minute free kick given away by Philippe Coutinho, and he especially won’t enjoy his slow reaction to a free kick from Fernando (not that Fernando) which was not hit too near a post.

Coutinho made amends with a solidly struck equalizer just after the half-hour mark, working a 1-2 with Mane and lacing a shot beyond the hopes of Rebrov.

Think Liverpool fans are glad they kept Coutinho? Back-to-back games with a goal for the Brazilian.

Tottenham Hotspur head to Cyprus to face APOEL in Nicosia hoping to make it two wins from two, while Manchester City host Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk aiming to keep their 100 percent record and Liverpool are in Moscow to play Spartak hoping for a first win of the group stage.

Elsewhere Real Madrid head to Borussia Dortmund (Christian Pulisic alert) in a mouth-watering clash at the Westfalenstadion and Napoli host Feyenoord in another eye-catching tie.

Click on the link above to follow commentary on all the action, while below is the full schedule as we will have reaction and analysis on all the UCL action on Tuesday.